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Antelopes that survive without water, plants thatstay green without rain, fox with ears that radiate heatand capture the tiniest sounds of an insect's feet.The desert is not only beautiful but alsohome of thousands plants and animals adaptedto life in very special part of our planet.

Antelopes

Antelopes are ruminant hoofed mammals of the family Bovidae in the order of even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla). Antelopes are spread relatively evenly throughout the various subfamilies of Bovidae and many are more closely related to cows or goats than to each other. In the Sahara, there are two species of antelope: the addax and the scimitar-horned oryx.

Gazelles

Gazelles are small to medium-sized bovids belonging to the sub-familyAntilopinae. They inhabit the deserts, grasslands and savannas of Africa, southwest and central Asia, and the Indian Subcontinent. They live in herds and eat easily digestible plants and leaves. There are five Saharan gazelles, four smaller belonging to the genus Gazella (dorcas, slender-horned, Cuvier’s and red-fronted) and one belonging to the larger Nanger group (dama).

Birds

Lying at the interface between tropical Africa and temperateEurope, the Sahara boasts an unexpectedly rich avifauna. Apartfrom a surprisingly high number of resident breeding species, the Sahara provides useful habitat for northern birds in the winter and afrotropical birds during the summer. It is also a regular highway for many migrants travelling between Africa and Eurasia twice a year.

Small Mammals

Fox & Cats

With its abundance of gerbils, jerboas, beetles, scorpions andlizards, the Sahara is blessed with an amazing variety of small carnivores. All live largely nocturnal existences, finding respite from the intense heat by burrowing. The ecology and behaviour behind their ability to coexist is still largely unknown. Likewise, their conservation status, with many species simply listed as “DataDeficient” in the IUCN Red List.

Large Carnivores

The large carnivore community of the Sahara is unexpectedly rich but as elsewhere in the world, suffers enormously from prejudiceand persecution. Most species are extremely rare, something compounded by natural scarcity in relation to available prey. Especially persecuted are striped hyenas and golden jackals, the latter being responsible for the most part of smallstock losses. Successfully resolving livestock predation issues is a cornerstone to saving carnivores from extinction.